Salazie (French pronunciation: [salazi]) is a volcanic caldera and commune (administrative division) of the Indian Ocean island of Réunion, which is an overseas department and region of France.

Salazie
Salazie town hall
Salazie town hall
Coat of arms of Salazie
Location of Salazie
Map
Coordinates: 21°01′39″S 55°32′24″E / 21.0275°S 55.5400°E / -21.0275; 55.5400
CountryFrance
Overseas region and departmentRéunion
ArrondissementSaint-Benoît
CantonSaint-André-3
IntercommunalityRéunion Est
Government
 • Mayor (2023–2026) Sidoleine Papaya[1]
Area
1
103.82 km2 (40.09 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
7,243
 • Density70/km2 (180/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+04:00
INSEE/Postal code
97421 /97433
Elevation230–3,071 m (755–10,075 ft)
(avg. 446 m or 1,463 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Waterfall of the Trou de fer

The first settlement of the area took place in 1829 after a cyclone had devastated the nearby coast, and the municipality of Salazie was formed in 1889. The name of the commune is potentially derived from the Malagasy word salazy, meaning 'good encampment'.[3]

Geography

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Salazie lies in the middle of island, north-east of Piton des Neiges (the highest point on the island), in the Cirque de Salazie (actually a volcanic caldera). The commune is totally landlocked, and borders the communes of Bras-Panon, Cilaos, La Possession, Saint-André, Saint-Benoît, Saint-Denis, Sainte-Marie and Sainte-Suzanne.

Climate

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Salazie has a subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). The average annual temperature in Salazie is 16.4 °C (61.5 °F). The average annual rainfall is 3,332.5 mm (131.20 in) with February as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in January, at around 19.7 °C (67.5 °F), and lowest in July, at around 13.0 °C (55.4 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Salazie was 30.2 °C (86.4 °F) on 16 January 2000; the coldest temperature ever recorded was 2.6 °C (36.7 °F) on 19 July 1991.

Climate data for Salazie (Mare A Vieille Place, altitude 870m, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1989–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 31.5
(88.7)
31.6
(88.9)
30.7
(87.3)
28.6
(83.5)
26.9
(80.4)
26.8
(80.2)
24.2
(75.6)
25.5
(77.9)
25.3
(77.5)
27.8
(82.0)
29.7
(85.5)
31.4
(88.5)
31.6
(88.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 26.3
(79.3)
26.3
(79.3)
25.8
(78.4)
24.7
(76.5)
22.5
(72.5)
20.5
(68.9)
19.6
(67.3)
20.1
(68.2)
21.2
(70.2)
22.6
(72.7)
24.3
(75.7)
25.7
(78.3)
23.3
(73.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 22.0
(71.6)
22.2
(72.0)
21.6
(70.9)
20.5
(68.9)
18.4
(65.1)
16.4
(61.5)
15.5
(59.9)
15.7
(60.3)
16.6
(61.9)
17.9
(64.2)
19.4
(66.9)
21.1
(70.0)
18.9
(66.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 17.7
(63.9)
18.0
(64.4)
17.4
(63.3)
16.2
(61.2)
14.3
(57.7)
12.3
(54.1)
11.4
(52.5)
11.4
(52.5)
11.9
(53.4)
13.2
(55.8)
14.6
(58.3)
16.4
(61.5)
14.6
(58.3)
Record low °C (°F) 13.3
(55.9)
13.5
(56.3)
13.2
(55.8)
11.7
(53.1)
8.5
(47.3)
7.9
(46.2)
7.1
(44.8)
7.5
(45.5)
7.2
(45.0)
7.7
(45.9)
9.2
(48.6)
11.7
(53.1)
7.1
(44.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 604.2
(23.79)
697.0
(27.44)
598.8
(23.57)
193.6
(7.62)
160.4
(6.31)
107.5
(4.23)
93.4
(3.68)
103.8
(4.09)
74.1
(2.92)
74.7
(2.94)
99.7
(3.93)
245.0
(9.65)
3,052.2
(120.17)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 16.0 15.6 15.0 12.8 10.9 9.3 10.8 10.9 8.7 8.1 7.6 11.4 137.2
Source: Météo-France[4]
Climate data for Salazie (Hell-Bourg, altitude 975m, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1961–2001)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 30.2
(86.4)
29.8
(85.6)
29.0
(84.2)
29.6
(85.3)
27.2
(81.0)
25.0
(77.0)
24.0
(75.2)
25.0
(77.0)
25.9
(78.6)
27.2
(81.0)
28.3
(82.9)
30.1
(86.2)
30.2
(86.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 24.7
(76.5)
24.0
(75.2)
23.9
(75.0)
23.1
(73.6)
20.8
(69.4)
19.3
(66.7)
17.9
(64.2)
18.3
(64.9)
19.5
(67.1)
20.7
(69.3)
22.2
(72.0)
23.5
(74.3)
21.5
(70.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) 19.7
(67.5)
19.6
(67.3)
19.0
(66.2)
18.0
(64.4)
15.9
(60.6)
14.1
(57.4)
13.0
(55.4)
13.3
(55.9)
14.0
(57.2)
15.3
(59.5)
16.6
(61.9)
18.3
(64.9)
16.4
(61.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 14.8
(58.6)
15.1
(59.2)
14.1
(57.4)
12.8
(55.0)
10.9
(51.6)
9.0
(48.2)
8.1
(46.6)
8.3
(46.9)
8.5
(47.3)
9.9
(49.8)
10.9
(51.6)
13.0
(55.4)
11.3
(52.3)
Record low °C (°F) 8.5
(47.3)
9.0
(48.2)
8.4
(47.1)
6.8
(44.2)
4.5
(40.1)
3.9
(39.0)
2.6
(36.7)
3.0
(37.4)
3.7
(38.7)
5.2
(41.4)
5.0
(41.0)
7.4
(45.3)
2.6
(36.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 655.1
(25.79)
777.8
(30.62)
615.8
(24.24)
209.6
(8.25)
163.6
(6.44)
107.7
(4.24)
102.6
(4.04)
110.9
(4.37)
92.8
(3.65)
93.5
(3.68)
119.4
(4.70)
283.7
(11.17)
3,332.5
(131.20)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 18.9 18.5 17.9 15.4 13.5 11.9 13.0 13.3 11.8 12.6 11.6 15.7 174.0
Source: Météo-France[5]

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1967 7,105—    
1974 6,462−1.35%
1982 6,467+0.01%
1990 7,004+1.00%
1999 7,402+0.62%
2007 7,181−0.38%
2012 7,320+0.38%
2017 7,312−0.02%
Source: INSEE[6]

Personalities

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  • Anchaing and Héva: reality or legend of a couple of runaway slaves
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 30 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Presentation of Salazie (from Flags of the World (website), with references)
  4. ^ "Fiche Climatologique Statistiques 1991-2020 et records" (PDF) (in French). Météo-France. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  5. ^ "Fiche Climatologique Statistiques 1991-2020 et records" (PDF) (in French). Météo-France. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  6. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
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